The present invention relates to a locking device, preferably to be secured in the chamber or breach chamber of a weapon, and a key for co-operation with a locking device.
Weapons are frequently subjected to thefts and therefor there is a great demand for a locking device, which prevents an unauthorised person to use a stolen weapon. A locking device of this kind can be designed to block the chamber, the barrel or any other vital part of the weapon in that a lock member, comprised in the locking device, by a rotation of a lock cylinder is brought into a position, in which the locking device is secured to the weapon (this function is denominated xe2x80x9csecuringxe2x80x9d hereinafter). The locking device can also be designed to damage any vital part of the weapon and in that way render the weapon unusable in that locking elements in the form of cutting edges, balls or the like, when attempts are being made to remove the locking device, are pressed into the material of the weapon part in question (this function is denominated xe2x80x9cdestructingxe2x80x9d hereinafter). Locking devices with combined securing and destructing function also exist.
A locking device with a securing function is shown for instance in U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,115 A. This locking device has a lock member rotatably arranged at the front end of the locking device, which lock member is connected with a lock cylinder via a pin attached to the lock cylinder, the lock member being manoeuvrable into a securing engagement in a slot in the breach chamber of the weapon by rotation of the lock cylinder. This locking device is very easy to manipulate, since the lock member is easily accessible by boring up the lock cylinder.
A locking device with a destructing function is for instance disclosed in SE 510096 C2. This locking device comprises a friction body displaceably arranged in relation to a lock body and insertable into the barrel of the weapon, which friction body is designed to engage with an inside wall of the barrel with frictional effect at the introduction into the barrel. A number of cutting edges are arranged to be moved into engagement with the inside wall of the barrel in case of a mutual displacement between the friction body and the lock body. The locking device further comprises two blocking balls, which are movable between a blocking position, in which they engage with the friction body and prevent longitudinal displacement of the friction body in relation to the lock body, and a free position, in which they do not engage with the friction body and allow longitudinal displacement of the friction body in relation to the lock body. The locking device can be inserted into the chamber of the weapon until the friction body engages with the barrel, whereupon the blocking balls can be brought into the free position by a rotation of a lock cylinder carried out by a key. Due to the frictional engagement of the friction body with the barrel, every displacement of the lock body caused by exterior influence will now result in a relative movement between the friction body and the lock body, which in its turn causes the cutting edges to be pressed outwards towards the barrel. A further displacement of the lock body in the barrel will result in that the cutting edges will be pressed into the barrel and will render the weapon unusable. This locking device lacks a securing function.
The locking device disclosed in SE 510096 furthermore has a lock shaft rotatably and displaceably mounted in the lock body, which lock shaft is rotatably connected with the lock cylinder of the locking device and is arranged to cause said blocking balls to be placed in the desired position, i.e. locking position or free position, in connection with a rotation of the lock cylinder. The lock shaft is preloaded against the lock cylinder by means of a spring in order to prevent a gap between them. The lock shaft is accessible and easily manipulable in case someone by boring or in any other way unduly manages to remove the lock cylinder from a locking device of this kind, which is secured in a weapon. When the lock cylinder is removed, the blocking balls can then be put into the blocking position via manipulation of the lock shaft, whereupon the entire locking device can be removed without damaging the weapon.
The cutting edges of the locking device according to SE 510096 are provided with an edge having its main extension in the axial direction of the locking device and consequently the edge will produce a cut extending in the axial direction of the barrel. These edges work satisfactory in weapons having a barrel with a smooth inner surface and a relatively small thickness of material. In such weapons, the edges will be pressed into the material of the barrel, whereby they secure the locking device in the barrel so that the barrel finally, when the force exerted on the locking device becomes large enough, will be bent and deformed. Some weapons have a chamber at the rear end of the barrel. At the chamber, the material thickness is normally larger than in the rest of the barrel. It is true that a locking device having axially directed edges can cause a certain damage to the inner wall of the chamber but the relatively thick material in the chamber is able to resist the forces transferred via the locking device so well that the chamber and the barrel will not be deformed by bending. The axial cuts that are obtained in the chamber when the locking device is removed by force will not in a satisfactory manner guarantee that the weapon will become unusable.
A purpose of the present invention is to provide a locking device to be secured in a weapon, which locking device has a satisfactory destructing function as well as a satisfactory securing function.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a locking device according to claim 1. In this locking device, a locking means is manoeuvrable by means of a lock cylinder comprised in the locking device into a securing engagement in a space located adjacent to the chamber or barrel of the weapon. In this locking device, a locking means having a destructing function is also manoeuvrable by means of the same lock cylinder. In the locking device according to the invention, a locking means having a destructing function is in a constructionally efficient manner combined with a locking means having a securing function, in the same time as a relatively rational and cost-effective manufacturing thereof can be achieved.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a rotary motion of the lock cylinder is transferred into a movement of the second locking means via the envelope surface of a cylinder-shaped wall of the locking cylinder. In this way the locking means can be arranged at the part of the lock body that surrounds the lock cylinder, whereby the lock body can have a relatively short axial extension, which can be suitable from a security point of view since the smaller part of the locking device protruding from the space in the weapon in which the locking device is intended to be secured, the more difficult it will be to unduly manipulate the locking device.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, said rotary motion is transferred via a recess in the envelope surface of the cylinder-shaped wall. In this way a well functioning transfer of motion is achieved in a simple way, at the same time as the lock cylinder comprised in the locking device can be manufactured in a simple and cost-effective way and be easily mounted in the lock body.
A further purpose of the invention is to provide a locking device having a securing function, preferably to be secured in a weapon, which locking device has a locking means which, when the locking device is secured in a space, it is very difficult to get hold of for unduly manipulation in order to remove the locking device from said space.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a locking device according to claim 8. The rotatably arranged ring-shaped lock element allows an efficient securing of the locking device in the intended space, at the same time as the lock element due to its ring-shape can be arranged at the periphery of the locking device and thereby will be very difficult to get hold of for unduly manipulation when the locking device is secured in the space.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lock element is concentric with the lock cylinder and is mounted to a section of the locking device, which section surrounds the lock cylinder. In this way the locking device can be produced with a relatively short axial extension, which makes it possible to adapt the locking device for securing in spaces having a limited extension in depth. Since the lock element of this locking device can be arranged in the vicinity of the rear end of the lock cylinder, which end is provided with a key hole, it will furthermore be possible to design the locking device in such a way that principally the entire lock cylinder is enclosed in the space, for instance a breach chamber, in which the locking device is to be secured, even when the distance between the space and the opening through which the locking device is inserted is relatively short, which makes it more difficult to unduly manipulate the locking device. With this design of the locking device, the attachment of the locking device in limited spaces is also facilitated.
A further object of the present invention is to achieve an improved security in a locking device having a rotatably and displaceably mounted lock shaft so that it will be very difficult to unduly manipulate parts of the locking device via the lock shaft, which parts co-operate with the lock shaft.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a locking device according to claim 14. This arrangement of the lock shaft and the blocking device allows the lock shaft, when the lock shaft by unduly manipulation of the locking device is rendered displaceable, will be displaced a distance before it is blocked against further displacement. In this way the lock shaft can be brought out of engagement with lock parts actuatable by the lock shaft before the lock shaft comes into the blocked position, whereby these lock parts no longer can be effected by rotation of the lock shaft, at the same time as the blocked lock shaft makes it more difficult to get hold of these lock parts.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking device has a lock cylinder comprising a cylinder-shaped wall and rotatably arranged lock discs inside the wall, an end wall of the lock cylinder, which end wall is directed towards the lock shaft, being provided with an opening for receiving an end section of the lock shaft, which opening extends up to one of the lock discs, said end section abutting against said lock disc via the opening. The lock shaft is here abutting against the lock disc preloaded via a spring element, whereby this lock disc, if the lock discs arranged in the lock cylinder will be released by unduly manipulation of the lock cylinder, will be pushed backwards under the action of the spring force transferred via the lock shaft. In this way the lock shaft will become free to be displaced under the action of said spring element into the position in which the blocking device prevents further displacement of the lock shaft.
A According to a further embodiment of the invention, the lock shaft is rotatable by the lock cylinder in that at least a part of the section of the end wall which delimits the opening extending through the end wall, in connection with a rotation of the lock cylinder engages with and moves the section of the lock shaft received in the opening. In this way a transfer of movement from the lock cylinder to the lock shaft is achieved in a simple way, at the same time as the section of the lock shaft received in the opening can be left free to be displaced a distance into the lock cylinder.
A further object of the invention is to provide a locking device to be inserted and secured in a space, preferably a chamber of a weapon, which it is very difficult to remove by force from said space and which can produce a great damage to the inner wall of the space in connection with attempts to remove it by force from the space.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a locking device according to claim 25. With this special arrangement of the cutting edge of the blocking element, the cutting edge will produce a planing action when it engages with the inner wall of the space. During displacement along the wall the cutting edge will consequently cut material and thereby cause large damages. Since the cutting edge engages with the wall along a section of the wall surface that has a main extension in a direction forming an angle with the axial direction of the locking device, the blocking element will get a very strong hold in the wall, whereby it will be very difficult and almost impossible to remove the locking device by force when the cutting edge of the blocking element has come into engagement with the wall.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the blocking element has a surface situated below the edge, from which surface the cutting edge protrudes in the axial direction of the locking device, which surface is designed to receive material cut by the cutting edge. In this way material cut by the cutting edge can be guided away from the cutting edge, whereby the material cutting ability of the cutting edge is improved.
According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the blocking element has a recess for receiving a ring-shaped lock element, by means of which the blocking element is secured to the locking device. In this way the blocking element is secured to the locking device in a simple way.
Locking devices intended to prevent an unauthorised person from using a weapon are often secured in the chamber of the weapon and/or in the part of the weapon that is intended to receive the forward end of a breach block comprised in the weapon. These are normally limited spaces and it can therefor be difficult to insert a locking device into this space and secure it therein, and to unlock a locking device attached in the space and remove it therefrom.
A further object of the present invention is therefor to provide a key, which is so designed that it facilitates the manoeuvring of a locking device, preferably a locking device to be secured in a weapon, in limited spaces.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a key according to claim 29. By means of this key, a key blank arranged at one end of a key shaft can be rotated by rotation of a rotation means arranged at an angle to said key shaft, which facilitates the manoeuvring of a locking device arranged in a limited space.
The invention also relates to a locking device comprising such a key, which locking device further comprises a lock unit, a lock cylinder, which is rotatably arranged in the lock unit and manoeuvrable by the key blank, and a locking means, which by rotation of the lock cylinder is movable between a first position, in which the locking means allows insertion of the lock unit into and removal of the same out of a space, and a second position, in which the locking means, when the lock unit has been put in place in the space, is arranged to engage in said space for securing the lock unit therein, the key in the first position being secured to the lock unit and prevented from being released from it, and in the second position being releasable from the lock unit. In this way the key can function as an appliance for insertion of the lock unit into a space which is difficult to reach, whereby the lock unit does not have be provided with any protruding gripping parts in order to facilitate the handling thereof. When the lock unit with the aid of the key has been put in place and secured in the intended space and the key has been removed, it will therefor be very difficult to reach the lock unit and thereby difficult to unduly manipulate it.
According to the invention, the last mentioned object is also achieved by means of a key according to claim 43. By means of this key, the extractor of a weapon can be used for bringing the key and a lock unit, which might be connected to the key, into a desired position is the chamber of the weapon or in a space connected to the chamber. In this way insertion and removal of the key as well as the lock unit is facilitated.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the member being grippable by the extractor has a flange, which is receivable in the extractor, which flange only extends along a part of the periphery of the member so that the flange by rotation of the member can be placed in a releasing position in relation to the extractor. In this way the releasing of the key from the extractor is facilitated.
Further advantageous features of the invention are dealt with in the following description and the rest of the claims.